Head Hunter gang member’s death in cells: Police too slow to perform CPR, call ambulance – watchdog

More than 300 mourners attended the funeral of Taranaki 'Ardie' Fuimaono, inset, a Head Hunters gang member who died in police custody in June 2021. Image / NZME

• Taranaki Fuimaono, 43, died in police custody in June 2021.
• The Head Hunter’s death led to WorkSafe New Zealand prosecuting police for an alleged breach of health and safety.
• The charge was dropped, but a new report released by the IPCA is also critical of police staff.

Police staff were slow to perform CPR and call an ambulance for an ailing Head Hunter gang member found unresponsive in the cells, a watchdog says.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority also found officers incorrectly completed an evaluation form that was “missing vital information” following the arrest of Taranaki Fuimaono.

This meant Fuimaono was checked every two hours instead of every 10 to 15 minutes, and signs he was unwell were missed before his death in custody.

Better known as Ardie, Fuimaono had been taken by his family to Auckland City Hospital on a Friday night in June 2021, complaining of severe abdominal pain and in an agitated state.

He was placed into an induced coma overnight and medical staff who treated him found 26g of methamphetamine in his underwear.

Police were called and the following day Fuimaono was discharged from hospital and taken into custody at about 6pm.

Six hours later, the 43-year-old was found unresponsive in a cell at the Auckland police custody unit.

Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and he died in Auckland Hospital a short time later.

At the time of his death, he was a senior member of the Head Hunters motorcycle gang and about to stand trial on serious methamphetamine charges.

His funeral in Grey Lynn was attended by hundreds of family members and friends, including mourners from rival gangs, and made headlines because of the convoy of motorcycles riding across Auckland.

The Herald has previously revealed how the Government health and safety regulator WorkSafe prosecuted police for allegedly failing in their duty of care, thus exposing an individual to risk of death or injury.

But the case was dropped on the eve of the trial in September last year after WorkSafe no longer believed the prosecution was in the public interest.

One reason given was because another agency, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), held the mandate to investigate deaths in custody.

The IPCA today released its final report, which reveals new details about the death of Fuimaono and is critical of how police monitored his welfare.

The autopsy report stated the cause of death was the “combined effects of obesity, hypertension and obstructive sleep apnoea in a setting of methamphetamine and tramadol use”, and medical experts said Fuimaono’s death may have been unavoidable.

While the IPCA said police staff were not medical professionals and could not be expected to diagnose a medical condition, detainees were considered vulnerable and police must provide them with “necessaries” such as medical treatment.

Better known as Ardie, Taranaki Fuimaono was 43 when he died in June 2021.

Custody evaluations are completed soon after a detainee arrives in a custody unit. Officers record the detainee’s behaviour and mental and physical health indicators to establish the level of care and monitoring required.

The first question for the arresting officer to answer is: “Are you aware of any medical or psychological reasons that indicate the person in custody may require special care or may be at risk while in custody?”

The answer given by the police for Fuimaono was “No”.

“We are unsure who recorded this, however, the correct answer to the question was clearly ‘Yes’,” the IPCA report said.

“Mr Fuimaono had just been released from hospital, where he had been in an induced coma earlier that day.”

The evaluation report noted Fuimaono was “calm and co-operative”, denied any thoughts of self-harm, denied being under the influence of drugs and was “alert and coherent”.

However, the report failed to mention he had been in an induced coma, the cause of his stomach pain was undiagnosed, that drugs had been found in his system during his hospital stay, or the possibility Fuimaono suffered from sleep apnoea.

The evaluation form was then approved by a sergeant, the officer in charge of the custody unit, with a handwritten note that said: “Medical notes provided by Auckland Hospital – nil concerns.”

“We find it concerning [the sergeant] reached the conclusion there were ‘nil concerns’, given what he knew,” the IPCA wrote in its findings.

The inaccurate evaluation meant Fuimaono was placed on a “not in need of specific care” monitoring regime, meaning staff were supposed to check him “at least” every two hours.

The IPCA said this was “inappropriate” and Fuimaono should have been placed on “frequent monitoring”, which would have ensured he was checked about every 10 to 15 minutes.

In response, the police argued staff relied on the fact Fuimaono had been assessed by medical professionals at Auckland Hospital who deemed him well enough to be released into the care of police.

The IPCA agreed, but with a twist.

“In our view, this led to staff discounting or dismissing the signs that Mr Fuimaono was unwell while conducting checks ... Officers failed to recognise Mr Fuimaono was unwell during checks and by using the CCTV footage available. Officers should have recognised this and ensured he received medical treatment earlier.”

Some of the assumptions made by police were that Fuimaono was still under the influence of drugs.

Footage from the security cameras show Fuimaono appeared medically distressed, unsteady and unwell over several hours, according to the IPCA.

“He was visibly struggling to take deep breaths and made at least three unsuccessful attempts to sit up before laying back down on his side,” the report said.

“He moved to the cell door, where he stood slumped over before staggering around the cell. Upon sitting back on the bed, Mr Fuimaono was swaying, slipping, and struggling to sit back up.”

At 11.49pm, Fuimaono slid off the mattress onto the floor, visibly struggling to breathe.

From 11.55pm, he lay completely still and was unresponsive when checked by an officer 15 minutes later. It had been about 47 minutes since his last check.

More than 300 mourners attended the funeral of Taranaki 'Ardie' Fuimaono, who was a member of the Head Hunters motorcycle gang, in June 2021. Photo / Alex Burton

Once he was discovered, the IPCA said the police were slow to act. It took one minute and 20 seconds for an officer to enter the cell, and another 20 seconds before his pulse was checked.

Another three minutes passed before a defibrillator was brought to the cell and an ambulance called. In total, about five minutes had passed before police started CPR. This was too long, according to the IPCA.

“The evidence is that the officers were unlikely to be able to save Mr Fuimaono’s life once they found him to be unresponsive. However, this would not be the case for all detainees who suffer medical events.

“Custody staff must always seek to provide urgent medical assistance to detainees as soon as possible after they are found to be unresponsive.”

In response to the IPCA report, Inspector Grae Anderson, the relieving Auckland City district commander, said police were responsible for more than 120,000 people who come into custody units across New Zealand each year in an often challenging and complex environment.

“Police have a duty of care to those who come into our custody, and we acknowledge there were learnings from this incident.

“As a direct result of what occurred, police have updated training to staff, and now ensure that we give stronger weighting to recent hospital admissions when assessing the level of care required for a detainee in similar circumstances.”

Anderson said police remained committed to continuous improvement in custody units and had implemented a raft of significant changes over the past few years, including the creation of a National Custody Team (NCT), which provides national oversight of the policy, practice, and training for all police staff.

“Police continues to work with all relevant stakeholders including WorkSafe, and the IPCA to look for opportunities to constantly improve our approach to the custody of people detained by police.”

The death of Taranaki Fuimaono is also the subject of coronial proceedings.

Jared Savage is an award-winning journalist who covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006, and is the author of Gangland and Gangster’s Paradise.